UTP category 5 cable is a data or communications cable constructed of 4 unshielded twisted pairs of 24 AWG thermoplastic insulated conductors enclosed is a thermoplastic jacket. The pairs of copper wires are tightly twisted to achieve high speed transmission; the tighter the twist, the faster the possible transmission speed. While UTP is available in Category 3, 4 or 5, the higher the number, the tighter the twist. The tighter twist helps reject electromagnetic interference. While many designers have selected category 3 for voice and category 5 for data, the trend is to install category 5 for all applications in commercial buildings.
As the computer and communications industries have grown, the organization and management of the cabling has become a serious problem. It has literally been dumped on the floor or dropped through walls, kinked around corners, or simply dropped on or dragged over the top of suspended ceilings. Cables such as UTP cables and fiber optic cables simply cannot be treated in such a cavalier fashion and have the equipment they serve meet expectations.
For example cross-talk on a telephone may be due to improper cabling or cable placement. Attenuation, cross-talk, data distortion, and return-loss all affect signal strength which can degrade any system transmission capability. Attenuation is the loss of power or signal strength along the transmission medium. Cross-talk is an unwanted transmission from another nearby cable, or even a pair in the same cable. Return-loss is a measure of degree of impedance between the cable and a connector. Background noise is also an irritating problem resulting from a low signal-to-noise ratio. Inadequate cable installation is a key reason for such factors, especially when data and voice transmission speeds are continually being increased, for example from 16 MHz to 100 MHz or more.
Such cable should not be kinked, snaked, bent sharply, tugged, sag excessively, or come into engagement with sharp edges, or be too close to power cables.
The wiring can be placed under the floor with elevated flooring which is extremely expensive and often not practical. A more common place for such wiring is above the ceiling between the structural floor or roof above, and a dropped or acoustical ceiling.
If the building is being built new and is being designed with such cable in mind, cable trays are often employed. These are simply suspended or cantilevered trays in which such cable can be laid flat to extend horizontally, and are hung or suspended from beams, joists, or decking for example, oftentimes by trapeze hangers. Such trays can be retrofitted into existing buildings, but not easily or economically, particularly if there is not a significant amount or extent of open or unobstructed horizontal space.
The area above many acoustical or drop ceilings is usually cluttered with structural members such as beams or open joists, utilities such as plumbing or sprinkler systems, HVAC ducts, conventional power wiring, often encased in conduit or armored, and of course the suspension hangers for the ceiling and any lighting or other fixtures in the ceiling. Moreover, most beams, joists and other structures extend in a rectilinear fashion above a ceiling, while communications or data cabling usually radiates from a panel or closet in a star topology.
Conventional power wiring clips, snaps, wire hooks, bridle rings, or plastic ties are not suitable for such cable because of a variety of factors. They may present sharp edges or produce sharp turns or kinks in the cabling, or they may crush or pinch a bundle.
Accordingly, there is a need for a category 5 or fiber optic cable support for the careful lay-in installation and organization of large bundles of such voice or data transmission cabling in the utilitarian areas of a building, such as the area above the suspended ceiling and the gridwork thereof, and which can be fastened to or supported directly or indirectly from substantially anything encountered.